IDC FutureScape: Worldwide Datacenter 2018 Predictions

List of Figures

Table of Contents

IDC FutureScape Figure

Figure: IDC FutureScape: Worldwide Datacenter 2018 Top 10 Predictions

Executive Summary

IDC FutureScape Predictions

Summary of External Drivers

Predictions: Impact on Technology Buyers

Prediction 1: By 2020, the Heavy Workload Demands of Next-Generation Applications and New IT Architectures in Critical Business Facilities Will Have Forced 55% of Enterprises to Modernize Their Datacenter Assets Through Updates to Existing Facilities and/or the Deployment of New Facilities

Associated Drivers

IT Impact

Guidance

Prediction 2: By 2019, 50% of Organizations Will Have Initiated Efforts to Rationalize Workloads and Accelerate the Adoption of Next-Gen Cognitive/AI, Machine Learning, and Augmented Reality, Necessitating Drastic Changes to Infrastructure Design and Placement as well as IT Operations Models

Associated Drivers

IT Impact

Guidance

Prediction 3: By the End of 2019, 70% of Companies Engaged in DX Efforts Will Be Struggling to Translate Business Needs into Effective IT Investments and Operations Plans, Forcing Them to Alter Staff Hiring Targets to Ensure They Have the Advanced Skill Sets Needed to Build Digital Supply Chains

Associated Drivers

IT Impact

Guidance

Prediction 4: By 2021, the Expanded Use of Power-Hungry Accelerated Computing Technologies That Support Cognitive and AI Analytics Workloads Will Have Forced Most Major Datacenter Operators to Adopt a Modular Approach to Deploy Power/Cooling Assets in Their Facilities

Associated Drivers

IT Impact

Guidance

Prediction 5: By 2020, Consumption-Based Procurement in Datacenters Will Have Eclipsed Traditional Procurement Through Improved "as a Service" Models, Thus Accounting for as Much as 40% of Enterprises' IT Infrastructure Spending

Associated Drivers

IT Impact

Guidance

Prediction 6: By 2021, 25% of Large Enterprises Will Have Turned Mandated Regulatory Compliance Investments to Their Advantage by Using Them to Set and Enforce Automated Data Controls Across Their Clouds, Core Datacenters, and Edge Locations

Associated Drivers

IT Impact

Guidance

Prediction 7: By the End of 2019, the Need for Improved Agility, Better Manageability, and Enhanced Asset Usage Will Force Companies Pursuing Digital Transformation to Migrate Over 50% of the IT Infrastructure in Their Datacenter and Edge Locations to a Software-Defined Model

Associated Drivers

IT Impact

Guidance

Prediction 8: By 2021, Critical Infrastructure in Half of Enterprise Datacenters Will Be Operating Autonomously While the Use of Autonomous IT in Intelligent Edge Locations Will Be Even Greater as Organizations Seek to Link Core and Edge Resources to Support Digital Transformation Initiatives

Associated Drivers

IT Impact

Guidance

Guidance

Prediction 9: By 2021, Over 50% of Companies in Consumer-Facing Industries Striving to Deliver Enhanced Digital Experiences Will Spend More Annually on Upgrades to Their Network, Computing, and Storage Resources in Edge Locations Than on Upgrades in Their Core Datacenters

Associated Drivers

IT Impact

Guidance

Prediction 10: In 2019, 60% of Digital Services Will Fail to Meet Desired Customer Adoption Levels Because the Providers of Those Services Are Unable to Effectively Monitor and Quickly Respond to Performance, Utilization, and Cost Degradations Across Their Diverse IT Resource Pools

Associated Drivers

IT Impact

Guidance

Advice for Technology Buyers

External Drivers: Detail

Pace of Change — Technology Capabilities Enable Sustainable Change at the Speed of Digital Business